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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219445">Tooka</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cha0s_Cat/pseuds/Cha0s_Cat'>Cha0s_Cat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Clones learning how to parent, Domino Squad Lives (Star Wars), Fix-It, Fluff, Fluffy adorable shenanigans, Gen, Language Barrier, M/M, No Beta We Die Like Clones, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Swearing, That's Not How The Force Works, and a bit of angst, children in warzones</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 20:07:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,079</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27219445</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cha0s_Cat/pseuds/Cha0s_Cat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>No plan survives contact with the enemy, children, or tookas</p>
<p>or</p>
<p>How Domino Squad accidentally adopted a child</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>57</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Cloudy with a chance of Tookas</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Droidbait stared out over the vast pitted expanse of the moon's surface. He wasn’t going to lie, this was not what he expected after their squad had passed the final exam. Albeit on the second go around. Rishi Station wasn’t a bad posting, at least on flimsy. However, after the non-stop rush of training, the weeks of monotony were starting to wear on most of them. With a sigh, he leaned against one of the many storage crates that littered the edges of the landing platform and let the biting wind flow through his close-cropped hair. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“You ok there, kid?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a small start, Droidbait glanced over his shoulder to see CT-327 walking up. “Uh, yes sir” He offered the Deck Officer a quick salute. Out of the seven troopers stationed at the base, only CT-327 and Sergeant O’Niner had seen anything resembling action. A tilt of his bucket conveyed the officer's slight skepticism but all he said was “Alright, just don’t spend too long wool-gathering out here, Trooper” CT-327 clasped a hand on Droidbait’s shoulder before continuing on into the base.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was just about to turn back to head into the base himself when a strange noise caught his ears. It sounded similar to the dual-toned cries of the local winged wildlife. Instead of their normally gentle calls, a much more vicious screech rebounded off the walls of the crater. It took Droidbait a quick moment to identify where the animals were. And when he had it was all he could to just stare as the massive creatures tore into each other as they rapidly approached the platform in free fall. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>One of the animals clutched something in one of its claws as it tried desperately to escape the grasp of the other larger creature. Droidbait knew he needed to move. But no matter how he struggled his feet seemed to remain rooted to the platform as the creatures fell closer. Just when he thought that he was going to meet a rather pathetic death, the larger one flared its wings, halting the fall of both creatures with an ominous crack.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever the smaller animal had been carrying tumbled free from its now slackened grip and continued on its way down. Right towards Droidbait.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah, Kriff.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He reached out. In an attempt to catch the object or to knock it away, he didn’t know. Then it was too late as it slammed into him.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>..</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>..</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Droidbait groaned as he clawed his way back to consciousness. A pounding headache made itself known when he attempted to sit up. He was not looking forward to his batchmates' inevitable teasing. It didn’t feel like he had a concussion so that was one point in his favor. A quiet moan broke the silence and Droidbait glanced down at what it was that had knocked him out.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“I… should probably get my head checked anyway,” he muttered as he stared at the shivering form of a child. Droidbait reached and gently nudged them with a finger. He was half expecting it to pass right through. After all, Rishi was notoriously inhospitable. Bitterly cold in the middle of what passed for summer, the temperatures dropped magnitudes further during the winter months. And that wasn’t even counting the mostly predatory wildlife.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The child flinched at the touch. Panicked brown eyes flecked with honey gold flew open wide as they rapidly scanned the platform looking for threats. “Easy, easy,” Droidbait kept his voice low and gentle as he watched the child scramble to their feet before stumbling slowly backwards towards the edge of the platform. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Konchee…? Nobata nobata hagwa je huunre!!!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Droidbait swore under his breath and lunged forward just as the child’s trembling legs gave out beneath them. He flinched slightly as he felt tiny nails scratch at his face as the child flailed in desperation.“Shhh shhh, Little’un, you are going to be alright.” He tucked the tiny cadet against his chest plate. Gently running his palm down their back in an attempt to soothe the frightened child as he made his way inside the base.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The warm air was a relief that Droidbait savored while making a beeline straight towards the barracks that he shared with the rest of Domino Squad and Nub. It wasn’t a large room. Just enough for three sets of bunks and space to walk between them. However, compared to the sleeping capsules on Kamino it was practically a penthouse. Setting the child down on Cutup's bed, Droidbait took a good look at them. Dirty dark brown hair fell in tangles down their back. Two sets of white markings, a dot with a curling triangle below it, framed their eyes. The child looked for all intents and purposes like a stray tooka.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“What the karking hells am I supposed to do with you huh?” Droidbait asked, resigned amusement creeping into his voice as he wrapped a blanket around the shivering child. “You don’t understand a single word of what I’m saying and I can’t understand your language.” He kept up the one-sided conversation as he moved around the room, collecting the rest of the blankets. “You know, my brothers probably won’t believe me. Hell, I barely believe it myself and I was an unintentional participant.” Turning back, Droidbait saw that the tiny cadet was watching him with wide eyes. He offered the child a small smile as he added the blankets until the cadet was wrapped up like a tubie. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Droidbait laughed as their tiny nose scrunched up and they wiggled deeper into the blankets until only large brown eyes were visible above the edge of the blankets. “You are just like a little tooka, aren’t you,” His grin grew wider as he flipped a blanket corner to cover their head. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uba dopa-meeky cheesky schutta!” </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The surprised yowl was muffled by the finest bedding provided to the rank and file soldiers of the GAR. Reaching out to the writhing blankets, Droidbait flipped the blanket back to reveal the displeased face of the cadet. “I’m sorry, Little’un.” He tried to school his expression and voice to be apologetic. He really did. A smile kept twitching at the corners of his mouth as he saw the little fangs revealed by the child’s irritated snarl. Fierce little tooka kitten.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was just reaching out to tug the blanket back into place when the child’s head snapped to face the door. Droidbait frowned and looked to see what had caught the cadet’s attention. “Hey ‘Bait are you in here? You…” His brother’s voice trailed off when he stuck his head through the doorway and caught sight of the child. It took Droidbait a couple of tries but eventually, he was able to choke out some form of a reply to his frozen brother. “Hi, Fives... I found a kid.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. How to name your Tooka</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translations in the end notes</p>
<p>So Domino squad is canonically 7 years old at Rishi. This is hilarious for multiple reasons in the context of this fic. First, 5 barely teenagers trying to take care of a kid. And second, Tooka is only a year younger than them.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Fives stared at his monitoring screen. Pointedly trying to ignore the two di’kut’e he, unfortunately, called batchmates as they used one of the consoles to arm wrestle. “HA!” Hevy let out a triumphant shout as he slammed the back of Cutup’s hand into the durasteel next to one of the screens. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t look</span>
  </em>
  <span>, he thought, </span>
  <em>
    <span>you know that it will only make them worse</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Unfortunately, Fives’ attempt at patience was interrupted. “Come on Fives, are you just going to sit there? Avenge my loss, vod!”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The chair spun smoothly as Fives turned to face Cutup’s shit-eating grin. “No, you can wallow in defeat because unlike you two, I am actually doing my job,” he said with a little wave as he completed the spin to face the screen again. “You both should try it,” he shot over his shoulder with a smirk.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Twin sighs of exasperation greeted his ears. “Yeah? Let’s take a look.” Hevy’s voice was practically dripping with sarcasm as he punched the button next to his own monitoring screen. “Hmmm, well what do you know? All clear! Just like the last hundred times I checked.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Personally, I don’t mind that it’s so quiet out here,” Echo said from where he leaned against a wall, datapad in hand. “It gives me time to catch up on the reg manuals.” “ECHO! What the kriff is wrong with you?” Fives swiveled just in time to catch Hevy’s look of abject horror at the thought of reading reg manuals for fun. “We should be out there on the front lines, blasting droids!” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Ah give him break,” Cutup neatly interrupted Hevy’s tirade with the ease of experience. Although the teasing lilt to his voice promised that he wasn’t coming to Echo’s defense. From the way that Echo’s eyes narrowed slightly, Fives could tell that he knew it as well. “They kept him in his growth jar too long,” Cutup snickered as Echo glared daggers into his datapad. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives raised an eyebrow at the two laughing clones. Hevy smirked at him, clearly nowhere near finished with the teasing. “Yeah I don’t know if you’ve realized it yet, Fives, what with how mind-numbingly busy we have been, but we’ve landed in the most boring post in the Outer Rim,” he said right as Sergeant O’Niner and CT-327 walked into the room.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Whatever the sergeant was about to say was cut off by the insistent beeping of the local proximity alert. Cutup swore and pulled the feed up on the main screen. “I thought Rayfrils were relatively docile,” Nub murmured from somewhere behind him as they all watched the large writhing bodies plummet. “Well, maybe they’re getting laid, unlike you,” Hevy shot back. “Or anything else on this moon,” Cutup added. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives watched out of the corner of his eye as 327 opened his mouth to say something only for O’Niner to swiftly cover it with his hand. A silent rapid-fire conversation seemed to pass between the two of them before the sergeant finally uncovered the Deck Officer’s mouth. 327 smirked at O’Niner, eyes twinkling, and nodded his head towards the door. O’Niner raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking to the group and then back to 327 in a silent, exasperated, question. 327’s smirk grew wider as O’Niner held his gaze before rolling his eyes and nodding. The last thing that Fives saw before turning his attention back to his brothers was the small smile tugging at the corners of the sergeant’s lips.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Cutup had his head tilted thoughtfully as he watched the way the creatures careened through the air, “Three days of cleaning duty says that one of them ends up dead before they crash into the platform.” Echo shook his head, not taking his eyes off of the screen.  “You know what, deal.” Nub said as he walked to stand next to Cutup, “If it hits the platform, it will be your problem to clean up anyway.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>He was soon muttering curses under his breath as they watched the Rayfril fly off with the dead body of the other. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Better luck next time, Nub” Hevy called out as the other trooper stalked back to his monitoring station. “Alright men, back to work,” O’Niner’s gruff voice brooked no argument as the sergeant surveyed the room one last time before exiting the command room, 327 following close on his heels. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Huh, could’ve sworn you were gonna get a dressing down about the importance of the station, Hevy” Cutup elbowed his vod and received a sharp jab in return. Business as usual. “Droidbait’s gonna be upset that he missed all the excitement,” Echo mused, “He does like that kinda thing.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Let’s not keep him in the dark,” Hevy smirked as he raised his comm to his mouth. “Hello di'kut,” he said in a sarcastically chipper voice, “you missed out on an up-close and personal experience with those damn animals that you love to watch.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The silence stretched on unbroken for a solid minute. Echo cleared his throat. “Maybe he’s too busy to deal with your osik, vod, I know I am.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Droidbait, answer your comm,” a worried edge crept into Cutup’s voice as he tried to raise his squadmate.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Silence.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Kriffing hells ‘Bait,” Hevy muttered as he stalked towards the doors. “I’m going to go check the mess.” The rest of Domino squad followed their batchmate before splitting off to go search the other parts of the station. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives wasn’t really expecting to find Droidbait in the armory but it was on the way to the barracks so he stuck his head in anyway. He was greeted by rows upon rows of standard-issue weapons and armor and no missing brother. A muffled yell from further down the hall had him jogging towards the barracks.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Hey, ‘Bait are you in here? You…” Fives’ voice trailed off as he caught sight of a youngling staring at him with wide golden brown eyes and a snarled mess of dirty hair. “Hi, Fives... I found a kid.” Droidbait looked like a cadet who got caught sneaking extra ration bars. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Vod, what the everloving kriff is going on!” Fives’ didn’t yell but it was a very near thing.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Droidbait winced and put a finger up to his mouth, “Shhh not so loud, you’ll scare them.” Fives pinched the bridge of his nose. He could already feel the headache that was starting to form. The pile of blankets that had been slowly inching across the bunk finally tipped over the edge and it was only Droidbait’s quick reflexes that prevented the youngling from slamming headfirst into the ground. The blankets around them were kicked free as the child wriggled to place the solid form of his brother between them.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>With a sigh, Fives stepped through and allowed the door to close behind him. “It’s ok, kid, I’m not mad at you.” The child clearly didn’t believe him from what he could see of the eyes glaring at him. Droidbait cleared his throat with a nervous chuckle. “Uh, I don’t think that they speak Basic.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The headache ratcheted up a few notches as Fives slumped onto his blanket-less bunk. “I’m not dealing with all this-” He waved to encompass Droidbait and the youngling that was currently crawling into his brother’s lap, “Karking bantha osik on my own.” Droidbait made a disgruntled noise and hurriedly covered the child’s ears. “Fives, there are younglings present!” He hissed.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yes and it’s karking bantha osik,” Fives replied evenly, a smirk tugging at the corners of his mouth. “Besides, you just said they don’t understand Basic.” Droidbait’s dumbfounded expression as his hands practically covered the child’s entire head was almost enough to make him laugh. Almost. Nine Corellian hells what were they supposed to do with a child? Nat-borns had parents, maybe they were looking for their lost youngling? What if they were accused of kidnapping? Kriff that was probably a one-way ticket to reconditioning. What if they declared their whole batch defective for it?</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>A small hand patting his cheek broke Fives out of his spiraling thoughts. He blinked and looked down into large brown eyes. The youngling patted his face again. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Lo widd shulu  nagoola, jee widd doompasha mashatas!”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote1%E2%80%9D"><sup>[1]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn1%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn1%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>They gave him an earnest smile and he damn near felt his heart melt. “You trying to cheer me up, Little’un?” He grinned when he got more pats in response. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Are you going to answer that?” a very amused Droidbait asked pointing towards the flashing light on Fives’ comm. His brother had his bucket back on and Fives had the sneaking suspicion that his vod had taken a holo while he had been distracted. However, the possible existence of blackmail material was a matter to be dealt with at another time. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[“Fives, are you having any luck? He’s not in the gym and Cutup just got back from checking the landing pad.”] </span>
  </em>
  <span>The comm’s tinny speaker didn’t hide the concern that was starting to creep into Echo’s voice.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Yeah, Echo, I found him. Grab Hevy and meet us in the barracks. I figured out why he wasn’t responding before but it will be better to explain it once everyone is here.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>[“Did he fall asleep in a weird place again?”] </span>
  </em>
  <span>He could just hear the faint sound of Cutup’s voice in the background before Echo’s comm disconnected.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The smirk that spread across Fives' face could only be described as devious. "Vod, do you think you could get a holorecording?" </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>"'Lek!" Droidbait's face didn't have to be visible for Fives to see his shit-eating grin</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>---</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“No, no way, absolutely kriffing not,” Hevy glared at Fives. “I’m not going along with one of your laser-brained schemes, not this time.” Fives sent his brother a look of mock innocence that only served to further irritate him. Hevy’s attempts to rapidly backpedal out of the room were thwarted by the rest of their batchmates trying to see what had set him off.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Move your shebs, di’kut!” Cutup pushed past Hevy and crouched down to coo at the child sitting in Fives’ lap. Fives didn’t even try to bite back his huff of amusement at Cutup’s antics. The child didn’t seem to mind the attention but they kept glancing warily over towards where Hevy leaned against the door.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Come on, what are we supposed to do with a child?” Hevy’s foot tapped the duracrete floor in a staccato rhythm like he wanted to pace and was physically holding himself back. “None of the simulations or training modules ever covered child care.” Cutup shrugged, “It can’t be too different from handling the littlest cadets, besides I’m sure we can find something on the Holonet if we run into trouble.” Hevy shot Cutup an exasperated glare. “There’s no way that O’Niner will let us keep them. It’s gotta be against regs or something!” Hevy turned to Echo, a pleading look in his eyes. “Back me up here, vod.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Echo blinked once and said in a quiet voice, “It...depends” The statement drew the undivided attention of the rest of Domino squad. “How did you get the youngling?” Fives smirked and gestured at Droidbait.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Why am I not surprised, how did you manage it this time ‘Bait?” Cutup laughed as he transferred the youngling to his own lap. Fives was sure that if furious glares were blaster fire he'd be little more than a smoking pile of ash right now if Droid bait had his way.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“The youngling fell from the claws of one of those Rayfrils while I was outside,” There was something in Droidbait’s tone. It was just a little too matter of fact. “And...?” Hevy asked, picking up on it as well. “And nothing, that’s what happened.” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Fives raised an eyebrow at Droidbait. He may be really bad at lying but even he paled in comparison to Droidbait. “Come on vod, spill it.” Cutup grinned at their brother. Droidbait let out a sigh. “And they landed on me and knocked me out,” he grumbled, “Are you happy now?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Hevy’s laughter was like an explosion of mirth in the small room. He was bent nearly in half, hands clutching at his knees for some kind of support from the force of it. Fives’ smirk stretched it to a full-blown grin as it even managed to get a chuckle out of Echo. Cutup gave up any attempt at fighting gravity, collapsing backwards while practically howling with laughter. </span>
  <em>
    <span>And the best part of the whole situation was that Droidbait had to say it on camera</span>
  </em>
  <span> Five’s thought as he gave his vod a large shit-eating grin.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>After they managed to regain some semblance of composure, he turned to Echo and asked the question that was on all of their minds. “So vod, what do your regs say about that?” An odd look crossed Echo’s face. “It…” he paused for a moment before walking over to sit on his bunk with slow deliberate strides. “The regs don’t say anything about this, specifically.” Echo said, resting his forehead on the sides of his hands. “The only things that come close would probably be A.458-45L subpoint 31: Troopers are not allowed to bring local fauna into military outposts or ships, and maybe L.6893.85D subsection 2: Civilian children are to be returned to their guardian or failing that the nearest Republic facility.” He looked over at the youngling “I don’t suppose you know where your parents are, kid?” </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>The only response that he got was a curious, </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Choy?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote2%E2%80%9D"><sup>[2]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn2%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn2%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>, and a head tilt. Hevy muttered something under his breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. Frowning, the kid walked over and patted his arm in a similar manner to what they had done for Fives. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“La la, soong tasa. Jee-jee tasa.”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote3%E2%80%9D"><sup>[3]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn3%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn3%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>Hevy looked down with an expression similar to a deer caught in the headlights of a speeder. The youngling raised both their arms and made a slight jumping motion </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Tonka, tonka!”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote4%E2%80%9D"><sup>[4]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn4%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn4%E2%80%9D"></a></span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Hevy froze for a second before bending down to pick the child up. He made a small sound of distress as he tried to figure out the best way to hold them without hurting them. “Kriffing hells you’re tiny Little’un,” he muttered as he shifted the youngling yet again.  Eventually, the child gave up on waiting for Hevy to figure it out. They wrapped their limbs around his torso and rested their chin on his shoulder. Hevy hurriedly wrapped his own arms around the youngling as they started to slip. </span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“Echo, Cutup, you two were the ones that got the most language modules, do you recognize any of that?” Fives asked. “Hmm, it might have been Huttese, I’m not really sure,” Cutup replied, shooting a glance towards Echo. “Vod?” Echo hummed in thought as he pressed a few buttons on his datapad. “Let me try something”</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Uhhh uba speccha Huttese?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote5%E2%80%9D"><sup>[5]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn5%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn5%E2%80%9D"></a></span>
  </em>
  <span> Echo’s voice was a little hesitant but the youngling seemed to understand from the way that they twisted in Hevy’s arms to look towards Echo. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Tagwa! Tagwa! Tagwa!!!”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote6%E2%80%9D"><sup>[6]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn6%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn6%E2%80%9D"></a></span>
  </em>
  <span> They chirped excitedly. <em>“Uba speccha tohn?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote7%E2%80%9D"><sup>[7]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn7%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn7%E2%80%9D"></a></em>. With a slight frown Echo punched a few more buttons and then his face lightened. “Yeah, they speak Huttese, that makes this a little easier”</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <em>
    <span>“Jee nobata speccha Huttese, oatapad pogwa speccha Huttese an Basic,”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote8%E2%80%9D"><sup>[8]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn8%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn8%E2%80%9D"></a></span>
  </em>
  <span> Echo responded to the question that the child asked.</span>
  <em>
    <span> “Choy sa do nambo?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote9%E2%80%9D"><sup>[9]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn9%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn9%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <em>
    <span>“Dobra Shag!”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote10%E2%80%9D"><sup>[10]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn10%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn10%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>the child smiled happily, revealing tiny fangs. Combined with the white markings on their face, Fives guessed that the kid had probably had some Togrutan in them.</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>Looking down at the datapad, Echo read whatever the kid had said. The blood left his face as the datapad creaked alarmingly beneath his grip. Fives looked worriedly between the two as Echo furiously jabbed at the datapad’s buttons. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Jee keekah soh do chacacheek?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote11%E2%80%9D"><sup>[11]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn11%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn11%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>Echo’s voice remained forcibly calm as he asked the youngling another question, his focus entirely on the screen.</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>“Cheekta<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote12%E2%80%9D"><sup>[12]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn12%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn12%E2%80%9D"></a> …”</span>
  </em>
  <span> The kid trailed off slightly, before seeming to reach a decision. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Jee speccha goola?<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote13%E2%80%9D"><sup>[13]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn13%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn13%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>”. The crestfallen tone of the child’s voice had Echo rapidly shaking his head. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Nobata, Nobata uba, uba nagoola! Jee paaj speccha foo myo vod’e.... uh myo namiru.”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote14%E2%80%9D"><sup>[14]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn14%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn14%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span> Whatever Echo said, it reassured the child. Echo took a deep breath and held it for a long moment before he let it out. When he finally glanced up from the datapad, Fives was startled to see anger burning in his brother’s eyes. “Echo, what is it?”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>“She thinks her name is slave.” his brother growled out through gritted teeth.</span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>You could hear a pin drop in the silence that followed. The youngling made a small confused noise as she looked from Echo to the rest of the vod’e. “We’re not calling her that,” Hevy snarled as he clutched her closer to himself, unconsciously trying to protect the child from an unseen threat. Cutup nodded, “But what name should we give her?” “What about Tooka?” Everyone turned to face Droidbait as he spoke up for the first time in a while. “She’s plenty curious and she kinda looks like one too,” </span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>The child blinked as she was suddenly the focus of every person in the room. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Wodu uba ika nambo?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote15%E2%80%9D"><sup>[15]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn15%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn15%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span>Echo asked cautiously. For a moment the youngling didn’t respond, only staring wide-eyed at him. When she spoke it was barely above a whisper </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Jee bee shu antua? Jee bee nambo?!”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote16%E2%80%9D"><sup>[16]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn16%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn16%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
  <span> The look of hope that crossed her face was heartbreaking. Echo’s voice caught a little as he asked his next question </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Bal uba ika bu nambo Tooka?”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote17%E2%80%9D"><sup>[17]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn17%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn17%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
</p>
<p><br/>
<em>
    <span> “Tagwa!” </span>
  </em>
  <span>The youngling’s smile was filled with unadulterated joy and wonder. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“Dopra antua an myo nambo sa Tooka!”<a href="%E2%80%9C#footnote18%E2%80%9D"><sup>[18]</sup></a><a id="%E2%80%9Dreturn18%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Dreturn18%E2%80%9D"></a> </span>
  </em>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Translations</p>
<p>Mando'a:<br/>di'kut/di'kut'e: idiot(s)<br/>vod/vod'e: brother(s)/sister(s)/sibling(s)<br/>osik: shit [dung (impolite)]<br/>elek/'lek: yes/yeah<br/>shebs: ass</p>
<p>Huttese:<br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote1%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote1%E2%80%9D"></a>[1] It will be ok, I will watch for masters <a href="%E2%80%9C#return1%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote2%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote2%E2%80%9D"></a>[2] What? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return2%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote3%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote3%E2%80%9D"></a>[3] There there it's safe. We're safe. <a href="%E2%80%9C#return3%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote4%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote4%E2%80%9D"></a>[4] Up, up! <a href="%E2%80%9C#return4%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote5%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote5%E2%80%9D"></a>[5] Uhh you speak huttese? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return5%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote6%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote6%E2%80%9D"></a>[6] Yes!!! <a href="%E2%80%9C#return6%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote7%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote7%E2%80%9D"></a>[7] You speak too? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return7%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote8%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote8%E2%80%9D"></a>[8] I don't speak huttese, datapad program speaks huttese and basic. <a href="%E2%80%9C#return8%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote9%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote9%E2%80%9D"></a>[9] What is your name? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return9%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote10%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote10%E2%80%9D"></a>[10] I'm Slave! <a href="%E2%80%9C#return10%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote11%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote11%E2%80%9D"></a>[11] May I know your pronouns? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return11%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote12%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote12%E2%80%9D"></a>[12] She/her/hers <a href="%E2%80%9C#return12%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote13%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote13%E2%80%9D"></a>[13] I speak bad? (Did I say something wrong?) <a href="%E2%80%9C#return13%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote14%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote14%E2%80%9D"></a>[14] No, not you, you good. I need to speak with my {brothers}... uhh my family. (Echo slipped up a little there) <a href="%E2%80%9C#return14%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote15%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote15%E2%80%9D"></a>[15] Would you like (a) name? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return15%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote16%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote16%E2%80%9D"></a>[16] I get to be a person? I get a name?! <a href="%E2%80%9C#return16%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote17%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote17%E2%80%9D"></a>[17] Do you like the name Tooka? <a href="%E2%80%9C#return17%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a><br/><a id="%E2%80%9Cfootnote18%E2%80%9D" name="%E2%80%9Cfootnote18%E2%80%9D"></a>[18] I'm a person and my name is Tooka! <a href="%E2%80%9C#return18%E2%80%9D"><sup>[back]</sup></a></p>
<p>(this should hopefully be the last time I have to deal with this much huttese)</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Translations:</p>
<p>Huttese<br/>Konchee…? Nobata nobata hagwa je huunre!!! : Where...? No no don't hurt me!!!</p>
<p>Uba dopa-meeky cheesky schutta! : You double-crossing cheating bitch!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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